Youngstown to the USHL?

The Vindicator in eastern Ohio is reporting that the NAHL's Mahoning Valley Phantoms are leaving the Chevy Centre next season. Owner Bruce Zoldan wants to purchase a USHL team and have them operate in Youngstown.

Bruce Zoldan, owner of the Mahoning Valley Phantoms team that plays at the center, said he’s only interested in fielding a team for the 2009-10 season from the United States Hockey League.

And Zoldan says it’s only a 50-50 chance he’ll own a team from the USHL, the highest junior hockey league in the United States. Also, it would be up to the city, which owns the center, to determine if it wants another season of junior hockey. It might not.

Zoldan said he wants to own a USHL team, named the Phantoms but with different players, that would call the Chevrolet Centre home next season.

This would be a huge travel expense for all teams, since Youngstown is much further east than Colunbus. Though if Youngstown does happen and works, it could spark some more expansion in the east and make travel a little less of a headache.